Aegidius Viganò

Agidius Viganò SDB - Italian: Egidio (born June 29, 1920 in Sondrio , Lombardy , † January 23, 1995 in Rome ) was an Italian religious priest . As the seventh successor of Don Bosco , he was Superior General of the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco from 1977 to 1995 .

Life

After finishing school, Viganò attended the Salesian Oratory in Sondrio, where he came into contact with the Salesian charism. When Don Bosco was beatified in 1929, his mother made a pilgrimage to Turin . She shared her enthusiasm with her son and supported him when he entered the Salesian apprenticeship in Chieri in 1932 and the novitiate in Montodine in 1935. A year later he made the first religious profession there. He then studied philosophy in Foglizzo . In 1939 he decided to go on a mission to Chile as a seminarian. He was initially a teacher in the aspirantate in Macul and from 1941 to 1943 at the Gratitud Nacional in Santiago de Chile . While he was a catechist there, he completed his theological studies at the Catholic University of Santiago .

He was ordained a priest on May 31, 1947 . In 1949 he was appointed professor of dogmatics at the Catholic University. From 1961 to 1962 he was on a study visit to Rome. After returning to Chile, he became director of the Salesian Student Council in Santiago.

From 1962 to 1965 he was involved as theological advisor to the Chilean bishops at the Second Vatican Council . In 1968 he became Provincial of the Chilean Province of the Order. He was also elected chairman of the Conference of Superior Generals in the country and attended the Latin American Bishops' Conference ( CELAM ) in Medellín , Colombia.

In 1971 he took part in the general chapter of the congregation and was elected a member of the general council in Rome.

General Superior

On December 15, 1977 he was elected Superior General. In 1978 he also took over the office of Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Salesians in Rome. On May 18 of that year he presided over the celebrations for the centenary of the consecration of the Maria-Hilf Basilica in Turin. He also took part in CELAM again this year, this time in Puebla .

In 1980, John Paul II nominated him as papal consultor for the Synod of Bishops on the subject of the family. Until 1994 he took part in another five Synods of Bishops in Rome, was an advisor to various Pontifical Councils and a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples .

In 1983 he was elected President of the Union of Superiors General in Rome. On May 15, 1983, Aloisius Versiglia and Callisto Caravario were beatified as the first Salesian martyrs.

On May 15, 1984, Don Viganò was re-elected as Superior General.

In 1986 he was given the honor of preaching the retreat for the Pope and the Roman Curia. In 1987 he traveled to China. In 1988 he presided over the anniversary celebrations for the centenary of the death of Don Bosco. As part of the celebrations, Pope John Paul II visited Don Bosco's birthplace. It was Laura Vicuña beatified.

In 1990 Don Viganò was elected one more time. This year Pope Philip Rinaldi beatified. In 1991, invited by the Pope, he again took part in the CELAM in Santo Domingo . In 1993 he opened the Institute of Communication Studies of the Pontifical University of the Salesians. In 1994 the Don Bosco sister Magdalena Morano was beatified.

Works

• La solidaridad del cuerpo místico, 1943
• La solidaridad elemento esencial en la constitución del Cuerpo Místico: según la Doctrina de la Summa Teológica de Santo Tomás de Aquino, 1948
• Per una teologia della vita consacrata, 1986
• Mistero e storia: dono e profezia del Concilio, 1986
• Laicato, cultura e teologia, 1988

Web links

• Literature by and about Egidio Viganò in the catalog of the German National Library
• Article about Aegidius Viganò on sdb.org (Italian)

predecessor	Office	successor
Alois Ricceri	Superior General of the Salesians Don Bosco 1977–1995	Juan Edmundo Vecchi